QuoteReplyTopic: A continuance of the config discussion Posted: 01 Mar 2010 at 3:56pm

Greetings once again Digital Storm Forum!

As per Moderator Alex's suggestion, I have started a new thread to continue the discussion about my configuration. I only have a few final questions, as Digital Storm seems to be a good buy. Quality components and strong customer support? It can hardly be found from any other computer manufacturer. The questions are as follows:

1.) If the 5850 graphics card is overclocked, will it be useful for a 23 inch 1920x1080 monitor? Or would a 5870 still be preferrable? I know that DST4ME explained that 5850 is reliable for resolutions up to 1600x1200, and that the 5870 card is best for 1900x1200, but I just wanted to be sure. I have a 22 inch monitor that is 1680x1050, but for just $10 more, I can buy the 23 inch mentioned above. Bear in mind, the monitors would run the games at max settings of course.

2.) Is a 6 core CPU upgrade really desirable? I haven't seen it offered anywhere that I have checked, and for my needs (see other thread) I was wondering if it may be overkill.

3.) In examining the cooling components, I noticed that the Noctua is preferred by many forum posters here. But how loud is it, as compared to the Asetek or V8 options? Will I have to get extra noise reduction components, or is it mostly quiet at max settings? The same question applies to the power supply. The DS is a silent edition, but I know many users here prefer Corsair, so which produces more noise?

4.) What difference does the chassis selection make, other than being cosmetic, on my computer's performance? I observed that I could get the Cooler Master Elite 310 for $58 cheaper than the HAF 922. Is that because it looks cooler, or is there other implications to the choice that I'm not aware of yet?

5.) Does the hard drive size affect the processing speed of the computer, or is it the actual speed design that has a bigger impacts? I understand that solid state hard drives are faster than 7200 RPM drives, for example. But would upgrading from 500GB to 1TB offer more than just extra space, from a performance standpoint, that is?
I think that is all I have for now. My latest build is: 389065 (ticket #). I would like to offer a big thank you to everyone's responses since my last post in the previous thread. Please keep the shouting and the arguing and the fighting to a minimum, otherwise we'll be locked out again!

Edited by Diogones - 01 Mar 2010 at 4:08pm

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" - Issac Asimov, from his novel 'Foundation.'

1. the 5850 is the better bargain, bang for buck so to say, so for your resolution a 5850 is fine, if you have the desire you can overclock it ti match the 5870's performance, if the budget allows then the 5870 is a bit better card, just more $$

2. 6 core is not available to the general public yet, will be $1000.00 for the 980x so makes no sense for this build.

3.Noctua is the quietest cooler here.

4. chasis will not effect performance, it is about features and looks mostly.

1. what justin said + remember the oc on the 5850 has to be a good one, higher then what DS does, then it can do 1900 x 1200 just fine.

2. there are two 6 core coming out from what I'm reading, the extreme chip that justing posted (980x) and it will be for around a 1000, and there should be another chip that is not extreme, that is the 970. the 980x is to 970 what 975 is to 960. the 970 should go for much cheaper ($300 or $400, this is a pure guess) and in few years they will be even cheaper.

is it worth it? in 3 years if you are not going to buy a new pc, would you like to have a 6 core for $200 to $400 bucks? if yes then yes it is useful, personally I always love upgrading a cpu in an old system, cause the cpu is the brain, and a new brain, as far as performance goes will run things better/faster, in this case more cores will do more work,specially in multitasking, for gaming I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make, should not be much.

3. psu go with corsair for better quality, I dont think you will notice a big noise difference if any.

4. the haf has better airflow so it will help temps with some of the components, the elite is pretty closed off and does not have the airflow, but like justin said, as far as how fast your pc is or anything like that, thats all the cpu, as I explained in number 2, and the case has nothing to do with that.

5. the reason the 1TB HDD is faster then the 500GB is because the 1TB HDDs offered here have 32MB of cache and the 500GB have 16MB of cache, if you they both had the same cache then you would not notice any speed difference. There are 500GB 32MB HDDs but DS does not carry them but you can request.

looked at your ticket, you need to change psu to corsair, if you have use for pci lanes then remember that with one gpu the micro board has only 2 pci lanes left, and if you go dual gpus then there will be no pci lanes left, I would change the case for better airflow, drop the oc from gpu and os, you will not gain anything from it, the gpu oc you won't even notice, last I would go with 6GB of ram if you can.

The ATI video cards, from my understanding, have quite the overclocking ability on them. That being said, yes an overclocked 5850 will be good for you, you will most likely want to take it higher then our overclock though. However, if you can afford the 5870, I would say just go with that and call it a day.

I agree with DST4ME, in 3 years, if your not going to build a new system, then yes it could very well be worth going with an i7 and just upgrading your processor at a later date. However, some people do rebuild every 3 years, so if that is the case, then save the money now, and go with an i5. It is going to come down to your preference on what your going to want to do later on down the road.

Most defienetly stay with the Noctua air cooler. It works great, and actually it is not very loud at all. I doubt you will notice it.

Power Supply...I will say that our Digital Storm one is a good brand, but I would still lean towards the Corsair when building a system. They are both equal in the level of noise though, which, is not very much.

The 310, is a very small close, very closed in. I would suggest one of the larger cases to give everything some room to breathe. Don't get me wrong, the 310 is not a bad case, but for more of the high end components, I would go with a case that gives those components the room that they need.

So I basically just said everything Justin and DST4ME just said. However, if you have anymore questions, feel free to contact me. I will be more then happy to assist you with any questions you might have, or in placing your order.

Sarah
If you have sales questions, please contact craig@digitalstormonline.com

1. what justin said + remember the oc on the 5850 has to be a good one, higher then what DS does, then it can do 1900 x 1200 just fine.

Ok, I guess I'll have to figure out how to overclock the graphics card then.

Originally posted by DST4ME

it worth it? in 3 years if you are not going to buy a new pc, would you like to have a 6 core for $200 to $400 bucks? if yes then yes it is useful,

That is indeed my plan. This computer is going to last me awhile, so I think it would be more beneficial to go ahead and stick with the i7.

Originally posted by DST4ME

if you have use for pci lanes then remember that with one gpu the micro board has only 2 pci lanes left, and if you go dual gpus then there will be no pci lanes left,

I'm unsure what you mean by pci lanes, so that probably means I don't need them. Are they affected by the GPU, or by the size of the chassis?

Hooray! Sarah responded to my post. Yes indeed I should be placing my order soon, I just have to finalize a few details, but your responses have helped with that. I have heeded your advice and changed my build accordingly, here is what it looks like now: 389331.

I do have a couple of questions however. First, although I realize that getting a network card is not an option on this build, I was wondering if I could request that, and how much extra it would cost to have DS install one in the computer for me.

Second, how much would I have to overclock my graphics card to achieve the desired performance for my larger resolution? And what is the greatest resolution that the 5850, without any overclocking, can use while still performing comfortably?

It is getting down to the wire, and never fear, the end to my configuring is in sight.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" - Issac Asimov, from his novel 'Foundation.'

now as for your pci lanes, pci lanes is where the graphic cards go and other cards, for example the network card you want goes on a pci lane, ubs cards, esata cards, sound cards, wireless cards, just about any card you want goes on the pci lanes.

yes ds can install a network card for you tho I'm not sure what you mean by that, the evga 3x sli has 2 network ports.

to oc your gpu the core clock needs to be around 1Ghz, if I'm not mistaken but justin would know better.

the 5850 can hanle 1600 x 1200 in games easy. when we talk about what gpu for what res, keep in mind we are talking about game playing, otherwise for movie watching and etc, it can handle any res.

Holy smokes, I got no less than two epic SEALS OF APPROVAL! I'm speechless.

Thank you for explaining what a pci lane is, DST4ME, but let me explain what I mean by a network card. I connect wirelessly to my Internet router (it is in another room) so I normally would have to use an external USB network adapter. But if I get DS to build a network card into the computer, then I can connect to the Internet without using my network adapter.

Alright, so 1600x1200 you say? I'm going on the hunt to find a good gaming and Blu-ray viewing (possibly IPS) monitor that is about that resolution. I hope I find one.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" - Issac Asimov, from his novel 'Foundation.'

ok so you are talking about a wireless card, that goes in a pci lane also, that one is easiest to install, DS can do it for sure and so can you, tho do your homework and make sure you get one that works on win7 64bit.

Yes, Windows 7 does have several handy built-in security features that are helpful, all it takes is some know how to use them.

For my wireless card, what if I were to have one from DS' other models installed? I know that they offer it as on option on the higher-end computers, so maybe they could do that, as it would save them having to buy it separately and then install it. Plus I do believe the 802.11n/g/b is compatible with Windows 7 64 bit.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" - Issac Asimov, from his novel 'Foundation.'

I was not aware it was a separate program. Does it have to be downloaded from Microsoft's website? And does it cost anything?

I apologize if I didn't make myself clear about the wireless card. What I meant was, if they already have one of the wireless cards from the other computers in stock, then they wouldn't have to order a different card. They could just install it into my computer if I order said card.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" - Issac Asimov, from his novel 'Foundation.'

the wireless cards are boxed up, like graphics cards, hard drives, RAM ect, when you place your order, the parts picker will go grab all of your parts and put them in a bin for the builder to assemble.

Oh, I'm sorry for the confusion. I am referring to a wireless network card, such as the Linksys Wireless USB N 300Mbps card that is available as an option on the higher-end DS computer models. My router will be in a separate room from my computer, you see, so I will need to connect to it wirelessly.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" - Issac Asimov, from his novel 'Foundation.'

That is completely understandable. In fact, I must empathize with you here to a point. I do not care for wireless mice or keyboards; I've had a lot of bad experiences with them. Speaking of which, do you think a USB keyboard is better than, or about the same as, an older PS/2 keyboard? I need to get one for my DS computer.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" - Issac Asimov, from his novel 'Foundation.'

for most things, yes a USB keyboard is fine, I have a ps/2 keyboard an mouse around for benchmarking, and with server apps, ect that will not allow a USB mouse/keyboard, but for general use a USB mouse and keyboard is fine. A lot of the motherboards only have one PS/2 port now a days..

So I saw your post in the other thread justin on how ugly the HAF is. I wonder if I should get a separate tower from DS for them to build the computer with, since I agree with you: I prefer metal to plastic. Any advice or thoughts would be most helpful.

"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent" - Issac Asimov, from his novel 'Foundation.'

The HAF 932 is a great case, looks wise, I personally really like it, but everyone is very much different in that regard. It has good airflow, its not plastic, its very solid.

Then you have the Hailstorm case (aka Corsair Obsidian 800D), HUGE case, its a beast. It has a lot of room, looks very nice as well, and because of all the space inside of it, you should as well have great ventiliation for your components.

So either way, looks are looks, each person is different. Its going to come down to whether or not you can look at your system every day and be like man, thats a work of art inside and out. On looks, its best to go with what you want.

Functionality on the other hand, is a different story, and based upon functionality alone, either one of those cases mentioned above will be great.

Sarah
If you have sales questions, please contact craig@digitalstormonline.com

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